Prepare to map data feed columns from Adobe Analytics to Customer Journey Analytics
Customer Journey Analytics provides a more flexible architecture than Adobe Analytics for determining the columns that are available to include in a data feed. Most organizations should expect to export different data feed columns from Customer Journey Analytics than they exported from Adobe Analytics. These differences are due to the following factors:
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Schema architecture: Adobe Analytics data feed columns are derived from Analytics variables, while Customer Journey Analytics data feed columns are derived from the data view schema.
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Data processing: Fundamental data processing differences exist between Adobe Analytics and Customer Journey Analytics, especially the existence of both pre- and post-processed columns for many Adobe Analytics columns.
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Unused columns: Adobe Analytics contains more than 1,100 data feed columns. Most organizations do not use the data from all columns that are being exported.
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Cross-channel columns: Customer Journey Analytics supports cross-channel data (such as call center data), which is not available in Adobe Analytics.
Before you begin mapping Adobe Analytics data feed columns to Customer Journey Analytics data feed columns, review the sections below to better understand these key factors that affect mapping.
After you review this information, follow the mapping instructions for each Adobe Analytics data feed column that you plan to keep in Customer Journey Analytics, as described in Data column reference.
Schema architecture
Customer Journey Analytics provides a more flexible architecture than Adobe Analytics for determining which columns are available to include in a data feed:
Adobe Analytics architecture
A pre-defined, static list of variables are available to include as data feed columns.
It’s easy to include all columns, and many customers do so, even when the data contained in those columns is not used throughout the organization.
Customer Journey Analytics architecture
Any components that are included in the data view schema can be included as data feed columns. For detailed information about this process for each potential Adobe Analytics data feed column, see Data column reference.
Components are included in the data view schema in either of the ways described in the following table:
Fields that exist in your XDM schema become part of the data view schema in Customer Journey Analytics after they are curated as components in the data view.
The number of fields that are available by default in your Customer Journey Analytics XDM schema can differ depending on how data is collected for your Customer Journey Analytics implementation, as follows:
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New Web SDK implementations: If your Customer Journey Analytics implementation uses a custom schema, many columns that exist in Adobe Analytics data feeds likely do not exist in Customer Journey Analytics. Likewise, Customer Journey Analytics may contain fields that don’t exist in Adobe Analytics data feeds.
If possible, consult the team or individual who architected the XDM schema for your organization’s Customer Journey Analytics implementation. Many of the decisions about which Adobe Analytics fields were needed in Customer Journey Analytics were made when the XDM schema was created. For more information, see Architect your schema for use with Customer Journey Analytics.
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Analytics Source Connector implementations: One-to-one field mappings exist by default for many data feed columns because the Analytics Source Connector uses the Analytics Experience Event field group in the XDM schema. For information about which Adobe Analytics fields map to fields in this field group, see Analytics field mappings in the Experience Platform documentation.
Data processing
Data processing differences between Adobe Analytics and Customer Journey Analytics affects which data feed columns are available to export, as follows:
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Adobe Analytics: Many data feed fields are exported as two separate columns: one containing pre-processed data and another containing post-processed data. (Post-processed data includes server-side logic, processing rules, VISTA rules, dimension persistence rules, and so forth.)
Because Adobe Analytics exports data for some fields in two separate columns (one for pre-processed data and one for post-processed data), Adobe Analytics contains more data feed columns than Customer Journey Analytics. Keep this in mind when mapping fields.
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Customer Journey Analytics: Fields are available for data feeds after they are created in the data view. Typically, fields in Customer Journey Analytics data views only include post-processed data. However, you can usually approximate the Adobe Analytics pre-processed version of a field by creating a second version of the field within the Customer Journey Analytics data view and configuring it to expire on hit.
Unused columns
There are over 1,100 data feed columns available to be exported in Adobe Analytics. Of those columns, not all will be used in your Customer Journey Analytics data feeds. This discrepancy is not an indication that your Customer Journey Analytics data feed columns are insufficient.
Identify which of the Adobe Analytics data feed columns your organization uses. Doing so will inform which columns are needed in your Customer Journey Analytics data feeds. To determine which columns to use:
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Identify fields that apply only to Adobe Analytics: Certain columns in Adobe Analytics data feeds are specific to the data processing engine for Adobe Analytics, and therefore don’t apply to Customer Journey Analytics. Examples of such columns are
exclude_hitandhit_source. -
Identify fields that apply to your organization: While not all Adobe Analytics customers export all of the available columns, many customers export more than they actually use.
Before you begin exporting data feeds from Customer Journey Analytics, you should first determine which Adobe Analytics data feed columns your organization currently uses, then ensure those components exist in your Customer Journey Analytics data view schema. To gather this information, contact the teams or individuals throughout your organization who consume data feed content for Adobe Analytics.
Cross-channel columns
Customer Journey Analytics supports cross-channel data (such as call center data), which is not available in Adobe Analytics. These cross-channel fields are examples of new columns that can be included in Customer Journey Analytics data feeds, which aren’t supported in Adobe Analytics.